In most games, Skylanders can open their Elemental Gates and gain extra power in areas of their element. In Battle Arenas, some elements have advantages or disadvantages over others: Air is stronger against Earth, Earth is stronger against Tech, Tech is stronger against Magic, Magic is stronger against Undead, Undead is stronger against Life, Life is stronger against Water, Water is stronger against Fire, Fire is stronger than Air, and the cycle starts over again.

In the webgame, the special abilities Skylanders have in minigames varies depending on their element, such as continuous fire for Tech Skylanders in Sky Defense.

Trivia

In Giants, if a Skylander is in an element zone or at an elemental gate which matches their elements, they give off a bit of a cheer. If that zone or gate doesn't match their elements, they will sometimes get irritated.

Many enemies and other creatures are also elementally-aligned, with Spell Punks, Villains and the Undead as the most notorious examples.

Some enemies also have their Skystones assigned elements as well, though not all correspond to them with their trap.

Hood Sickle, Grave Clobber, and Tae Kwon Crow are the first three characters to change their elements permanently. As seen with Tae Kwon Crow turning away from his Dark path to learn Fire moves, creatures can change them willingly.